Rail union RMT has announced that railway workers will walkout across the country on 8 October in its ongoing fight over jobs, pay and working conditions.
More than 40,000 RMT members from Network Rail and 15 train operating companies will take to picket lines, effectively shutting down the railway network the union said.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that it was encouraging that the new Secretary of State Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP had met with the union.
“We welcome this more positive approach from the government to engage with us as a first step to finding a suitable settlement,” he said. “However, as no new offer has been tabled, our members have no choice but to continue this strike action
“We will continue to negotiate in good faith, but the employers and government need to understand our industrial campaign will continue for as long as it takes,” he said.
The strike action will take place at Network Rail, Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Govia Thameslink Railway (including Gatwick Express), Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
Responding to the RMT’s announcement, a Rail Delivery Group (RDG) spokesperson said: “This strike will hit sports fans, friends and families planning to meet up and the RMT members themselves who have already lost, at the very least, many hundreds of pounds due to industrial action since June.
“Rather than staging more counterproductive action that will further alienate the very customers we need to secure the long-term future of the industry, the RMT leadership should commit to serious reform. That is how we can improve services and deliver a fair deal for our people, passengers and for taxpayers.”
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